Sony MVC-CD200 Review

Timings & File Sizes

The CD200 has a buffer which allows you to take the next
shot while the camera writes the image away to the disc, this now makes
CD-R/RW storage far more acceptable as a digital camera storage format
(if you can get over the size of the camera).

Timing Notes: All times calculated as an average
of three operations. Unless otherwise stated all timings were made on
a 1600 x 1200 FINE JPEG image (approx. 830 KB per image). We performed
all the tests below for both CD-R and CD-RW discs in case there was any
performance difference, as it turns out there was hardly any discernible
difference.

Action

Time
taken
(seconds)

Notes

Power: Off to Record

3.4

Quite fast

Power: Off to Play

9.0

Image loading *1

Power: Record to
Off

1.8

Quite fast

Power: Play to
Off

1.8

Mode: Record to
Play

3.0

Image loading *1

Mode: Play to
Record

0.5

Play: Magnify

From x1
to x5.0

7.4

(17 steps)

Rec: Thumbnail view

3 x 3
thumbnails

6.7

Auto Focus LAG

0.7 -
1.4

Average

Shutter Release LAG

0.1

Fast

Total LAG

1.1

Average
to Slow

Off to Shot Taken

4.0

Fast

Shot to Shot

1600 JPEG
FINE

3.7

Fast

*1

Camera displays rough image (enough
detail to see what the image is), you can interrupt the rest of the
loading process by pressing the left or right cursor or rolling the
jog-dial.

File Flush / Display Timing

Timings shown below are the time taken for the camera
to process and "flush" the image out to the Memory Stick, the
timer was started as soon as the shutter release was pressed (mirror noise
was heard) and stopped when ACCESS LED below the LCD went out. This means
the timings also include the cameras processing time and as such are more
representative of the actual time to "complete the task".

The CD200 will allow you to take the next shot before
the current one has been written away (except for TIFF and TEXT format),
shot-to-shot times can be found in the table above. All the timings below
are dependent on the time it takes the disc to ready, thus some of the
"lead-in" to these timings will include the half second or so
it takes the disc to spin up and laser to be in the correct position (this
can be more clearly seen in the time to display timings).

Store file of
type

Time
to store
(seconds)

Time
to
display
(seconds)

Average
File size

Approx.
images
on a 156 MB
CD-R

1600 x 1200 TIFF

42.6

5.9

5,627
KB

19

1600 x 1200 TEXT (GIF) **

17.8

24.6

~30
KB

4,000+

1600 x 1200 JPEG FINE

6.2

4.9

~830
KB

132

1600 x 1200 JPEG STANDARD

5.2

4.5

~480
KB

237

1024 x 768 JPEG FINE

4.7

3.8

~350
KB

321

640 x 480 JPEG FINE

4.3

3.8

~150
KB

663

*All file sizes are an average of three
files. As is the case with JPEG it's difficult to predict the size of
an image because it will vary a fair amount depending on the content
of the image (especially the amount of detail captured). For example,
take a photograph of a fairly empty wall and you'll get a small JPEG,
take a photograph of a bush with a lot of detail and you'll get a larger
image. File sizes here are closer to the later, the larger size of file
you should expect.

** Majority
of this time is spent processing (generating) the GIF file.

Battery life

Surprisingly good for a device with a mechanical / magneto-optical
storage system, on a days outing the battery lasted well over two hours
with careful use of the DISPLAY button (to power the LCD backlight off
when not using it). Obviously performing regular playback, intialize or
finalize takes a heavier toll on the battery. The CD200 uses the same
powerful NP-FM50 "M series" InfoLithium (Lithium-Ion) battery
we saw in the S70 (rated at 7.2V 8.5Wh, 1200mAh).

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